by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Aug 28, 2021
Game time: 7:08 p.m. ET
Venue: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA
Where to watch: ESPN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Yankees -145, Athletics +125
BetMGM: Yankees -140, Athletics +115
FanDuel: Yankees -142, Athletics +120
Season record
Yankees: 76-53 (2nd place, AL East)
Athletics: 71-59 (2nd place, AL West)
Jack Banks went 4-0 the last two nights and is 13-4 in his last 17 MLB plays. Jack is involved in one game on Saturday, his MLB Bank Job Game of the Month. Jack has nailed over 63 percent of his Game of the Month releases over the last 2 years. Check out Jack and other plays available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.
Yankees - Athletics preview and analysis
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Yankees: 9-1 in last 10, had 13-game winning streak snapped Saturday
Athletics: 3-7 in last 10
May we all bow our heads for a moment of silence for the New York Yankees’ 13-game winning streak.
We’ll even ignore the fact the Yankees almost pulled off another comeback to keep it going, just so the Oakland Athletics can bury it deep into that baseball diamond in the Oakland Coliseum.
The Yankees’ long run of terror through August has finally come to an end after the A’s defeated the Yankees 3-2 on Saturday to push the four-game series to 2-1. The series finale will take place Sunday on ESPN.
New York was kept quiet for most of the afternoon Saturday. Frankie Montas had such a dominant outing for the A’s that he went through seven innings and had six strikeouts while only allowing two hits.
And yet it all nearly came crashing down for nothing when Aaron Judge stepped to the plate and hit a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to make it a one-run game. Judge, who has found his groove at the plate throughout this winning streak, had three of the Yankees’ five hits in this game. The other two came from Anthony Rizzo and Luke Voit.
Judge batted .372 with three homers and 11 RBI during the Yankees’ stretch of winning.
The Yankees nearly pulled it off for 26-year-old left-hander Nestor Cortes after going 5.1 IP and only allowing three earned runs on four hits. But in the land where Moneyball was made famous, the A’s were not letting the Yankees pass them for the longest winning streak this season.
Matt Chapman blasted his 21st homer of the season in the bottom of the fourth for some added insurance; Tony Kemp got the scoring started with an RBI single in the second.
The A’s recent six-game losing streak pushed them further away from the Houston Astros, who won their fourth straight game Saturday and maintained a 6.5-game lead on Oakland for first place in the American League West. Fortunately for the A’s, the Seattle Mariners have ran into some trouble with the Kansas City Royals and are on the verge of being swept. Seattle remains two games behind Oakland in the win column and two games behind them in the wild card standings.
With their third straight win on Saturday, the Boston Red Sox lead Oakland by 3.5 games for the one-game outing.
Despite the Yankees’ best efforts, they haven’t fully climbed the mountaintop occupied by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. The Rays won their sixth straight game with a come-from-behind victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday, extending their lead on the Yankees to five games.
New York’s lead on the Red Sox for the top wild-card spot has been trimmed to just two games, now that Boston won its third consecutive game. In short, despite the Yankees putting the fear of the Bronx gods in every opponent they’ve mowed down during their 13-game winning streak, the Red Sox are not going away and the Rays may be much better than anticipated.
Jordan Montgomery and Paul Blackburn are expected to be on the mound for the Yankees and Athletics, respectively, for Sunday’s grand finale on ESPN.
Prediction
A little slip-up could cause the Yankees to fall back and lose the final two games of this series, but it’s hard to envision that happening. Judge is red-hot and the rest of the offense should wake up to give Montgomery some help. Yankees win 8-4.
Betting trends
The Yankees are 15-8 (+5 net games on the money line) in Montgomery’s starts this season.
When the money line is between +125 and +175, the A’s are only 8-10 (+1.5 net games).
The under is 69-55 this season in Yankees games.
Key injuries
Yankees: SS Gleyber Torres (thumb, 10-day IL), SP Corey Kluber (shoulder, will start Monday)
Athletics: SP Cole Irvin (hip, day-to-day), RF Stephen Piscotty (wrist, out for season)
Players to watch
Yankees: It was only a matter of time before the power of the Monstars rubbed off on Giancarlo Stanton. Despite going 0-for-4 on Saturday, Stanton has six homers since Aug. 17 and has eight RBI in his last six games.
Athletics: Starling Marte continues to be the most underrated trade deadline acquisition. The center fielder had his seven-game hit streak end Saturday, but Marte has multiple hits in three of his last seven games.
Projected lineup
Yankees:
DJ LeMahieu (R) 2B
Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
Aaron Judge (R) CF
Giancarlo Stanton (R) RF
Joey Gallo (L) LF
Luke Voit (R) DH
Gary Sanchez (R) C
Rougned Odor (L) 3B
Andrew Velazquez (S) SS
Athletics:
Josh Harrison (R) SS
Starling Marte (R) CF
Matt Olson (L) 1B
Yan Gomes (R) C
Matt Chapman (R) 3B
Mark Canha (R) LF
Chad Pinder (R) RF
Sean Murphy (R) DH
Tony Kemp (L) 2B
Probable starting pitchers: Jordan Montgomery (NYY) vs. Paul Blackburn (OAK)
Statistical leaders
Yankees:
Batting average: Aaron Judge (.295)
Hits: DJ LeMahieu (130)
Home runs: Aaron Judge (29)
RBI: Aaron Judge (72)
Stolen bases: Gleyber Torres (12)
Wins: Gerrit Cole (13)
Saves: Aroldis Chapman (24)
ERA: Gerrit Cole (2.80)
Athletics:
Batting average: Matt Olson (.275)
Hits: Matt Olson (123)
Home runs: Matt Olson (32)
RBI: Matt Olson (83)
Stolen bases: Starling Marte (20)
Wins: Chris Bassitt (12)
Saves: Lou Trivino (21)
ERA: Chris Bassitt (3.22)
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
